The Endless Odyssey of Love
by Blasted Head
Summary: 'No matter what happens to you...I'll always be there. I promise.'
1. Mission Request

'Mission request, your Excellencies.'

There is nothing to fear facing the Council. I look straight at them, scanning them one by one before settling down on a fat guy with an ugly ponytail. I look into his brain and confirm my guess.

'Capture the Nibelung,' he ordered. 'Bring the pirates with you if possible.'

I raise my head slightly. Unlike Ezra, I bow to no one.

'Roger that.'


	2. First Encounter

Something about this ship bothers me.

Since getting stuck to Miime _Arcadia_ , I, though not a Nibelung, can more or less sense some changes of the dark matter imprint of many places. According to Miime, it is an invisible force which exists everywhere, even in your body.

Not to mention a normal Tia class battleship.

Normally speaking, we can easily take over a ship like this one and quickly plunder its supply. This time, the soldiers, no, _humanoids_ , seems to be specially designed for us. All are wounded and have been sent to the med bay, therefore I am left with the task of removing the viruses (which is also uncommon) added to the files before Tochiro can copy them to himself.

Then there is a wave.

It is not any normal wave made by water. It is of dark matter, and only people influenced with it can ever-so-slightly control it. After this whole century, I still haven't fully understand even the _concept_ of this whole dark matter controlling issue. Out of my reflexes, I unsheathe my gravity sabre and turn.

There is nothing. I stand there frozen like a statue for a moment, make sure that there is no one behind the half-opened door and turn back to the console, letting myself sigh. But before my hand even touch the smooth glass pane, Tochiro's voice echoes in my mind.

 _Harlock!_ comes Tochiro's panic-stricken yell. _There's someone on_ Arcadia _!_

I cursed, breaking off into a dash back to the ship. Tochiro can deal with the viruses. 'Then? Where's he?'

 _On the bridge!_

So everything may just be a distraction. The humanoids with super-reflexes, the viruses added to the files, they are all specially planned by someone to weaken us.

'Where's he?'

 _The hangar, no, main corri...now climbing through the lift vent and is…well, I think he's targeting for the bridge._

I am welcomed by a knife whizzing next to my ear. It found the wall behind me, half-buried itself in the hard, greyish-black metal. Pulling it out, I use it to block an attack from the Gaian.

He is unexpectedly short, so short that he can only be a child.

Another knife seems to appear in his left hand. I barely manage to grab his wrist before the deadly metal found my

heart. I try to apply pressure on my grip but fail as he turns and leaps into the air, the position of his foot indicating that I would have been stabbed by the spur on his boot if I hadn't ducked. I grab the heel and flung him onto the wall.

I decide to ignore his height. Righting himself in a speed I have never seen before, he pulls something out from one of his pockets, unfolds it with a swing of his arm and leaps towards me. I, having finally manage to unsheathe my sabre, block the blade. Force makes him roll forward, and then his foot finds my shoulder. A hook shoots out from his jacket, finds the wall on my left and I am nearly beheaded when he straightens his arm. He rolls forward on the ground and, not even looking back, blocks my attack aimed towards his head. He turns slowly but makes no indication of withdrawal. Finally a chance of negotiation.

'You don't have to do this,' I say. 'Gaia's wrong. They won't reward you with anything even if you manage to return.'

'I do that for myself,' come a mechanical voice. 'Gaia only provides me an opportunity.'

His left hand gropes for something on her belt. A bomb appears, and she throw it between us. I am knocked back by the shock wave, and when I look up, the soldier is gone.

 _Tochiro, I think I need some help,_ I say in my mind.

 _To be frank, I think he's gone by now, Harlock_ , my friend replies. _You didn't kill him?_

'No,' I answer. 'He ran away.'

A moment of silence, then, _Bring me the blade he left, can you?_

I want to ask what he means, but I find my answer when I spot the knife left by the soldier on the floor. Picking it up, I examine the black knife carefully, noticing the faint bluish-green glow which I haven't noticed in the fight. Chill creeps up my spine as I realise the harm it can do when it touches Miime. I am so drawn by the knife that I don't notice Yama running towards me, a bandage around his forehead and his sleeve rolled up, showing the bruises on his arm.

'What's up, Captain?' he asks. Obviously Gaia didn't tell him about the only metal that can harm a Nibelung physically.

I do not reply, since it will take a long time to explain it to him. 'Follow me.'

* * *

 _It's nihilium,_ Tochiro confirms my guess. _Definitely nihilium. Look as its glow, I can recognise it even without scanning._

'Nihilium?' Yama questions again. 'What exactly is this? You guys look so...disturbed.'

 _Gaia didn't tell you about it before sending you here?_

The co-Captain shakes his head.

'Nihilium is a kind of metal only found in one single planet among the billions humanity has discovered,' I begin. 'To be more accurate, an asteroid. No one knows its exact location, since it has been drifting all around the universe since, many believe, it was created. Sometimes it was caught in by a star and stay there for a few years, before the nihilium inside manage to defy the gravity and it begins floating around again. Most of the times it stays in the void, where there is little galaxies and dimensions are extremely unstable, making it even harder to mine. To keep up with it, Gaia placed a tractor in the core of the asteroid, and only go there whenever it's needed. Because of its rareness, it is very expensive and it is the only thing they dare not waste.'

 _No one ever truly understands this metal,_ Tochiro continues. _Not even the best chemist does. It seems to have its own mind; it rumoured that once a person wanted to steal one piece to get a good price from the black market, only to have it suddenly jumping out from his hand and it rolled all the way back to the lab. It's extremely unstable, one second it's in liquid form, and the next second it evaporates into a bluish-green gas, and then it solidifies into a star-shaped rock again, all happening in the same box, with the same pressure, same temperature and the . I actually saw it, Yama. Believe me, it will likely remain the most unforgettable sight I've ever seen in my life._

'But this is very stable,' I mutter, giving the knife a good fling. It remains the same shape, which is really a miracle to me. 'And it doesn't escape from my hands purposefully.'

Silence.

'And it's the only known metal which can harm a Nibelung physically,' I breathe, still can't believe I am holding a knife made of nihilium. 'Whatever Gaia's planning, it's targeted for Miime. If they want to kill me they can use normal weapons instead.'

Silence again.

I can't think of what to say, therefore I use telling Miime about this as an excuse and go back to my quarters, bringing the knife with me.

* * *

As usual, Miime is waiting for him in a chair with a glass of wine in her hand.

'We're going to the nearest planet for medical supplies,' I tell her. 'We suffer quite a lot from this attack. There's a soldier, a specially trained one. He left this,' I put the knife onto the table; 'whether he did this on purpose or not, I don't know.'

She looks at the weapon for a moment while I pour myself some wine. How many times we have to do this as friends?

'Nihilium?' she asks. She doesn't reach for it, knowing the harm it can do to her. After all, it's all nihilium from point to hilt. 'It looks...stable.'

'That's our biggest question,' I reply. 'I hope Tochiro is seeking for an answer.'

A moment of silence. Then I add, 'I think they're coming for you, Miime.'

'So do I,' she says with an unusual calmness. 'They want to reconstruct the Deathshadow fleet.'

'How do you know?' It is one of my guesses; Gaia is losing power quickly, and I understand they are desperate for more power. But reconstructing the Deathshadow fleet? It requires a lot of manpower. And brains they lack as well.

'The Kaleido Star System didn't kill us,' she takes a sip of her wine; a graceful movement in my eye, 'nor did the Jovian Blaster.'

'We used dark matter in both cases,' I continue. An idea starts to form in my head. 'And our only failure was a century ago when we were fighting against he other three Deathshadows. They think it's the only way to defeat us, so they need another fleet. To control the dark matter, they will need you.'

'Or not, Harlock.'

I look at her.

'When the soldier attacked, I felt some changes in the dark matter as if someone is altering their signature on purpose. One may never feel it but it does exist. If he had to change the aura around him, I...I think I can recognise him if I'm close enough. The knife...it may be some kind message to...give us a hint about someone.'

'Like the arrogant criminals who toy with the police in those old crime tv shows?' I ask.

'Sort of,' she answers.

I put down my glass of wine and go to a cabinet to take out a roll of duct tape. I tear a good length of it and wrap the handle of the knife fully, checking a few times for any uncovered spots and sheathe it in an empty leather sheath. I hold it towards Miime, say, 'Take it. Just in case he come again.'

She takes it carefully in her hands. Our fingers brush, and I feel warmth spread from my fingertips to my whole body.

'Don't die, please,' I find myself saying.

She looks a little bit shocked for a few seconds, and after that puts down the knife slowly on the table to cup my cheek in her hand. 'You too.'


	3. A Dance on the Desert

The planet is not the most ideal place to get any supplies, but at least the amount we've got will be enough for now. Some men were too heavily wounded that if they aren't treated properly in a few days, the doctor may need to prepare to cut off some arms and legs.

I don't know why I end up in a bar at the outskirts of the town, but then I am grateful that I have gone there because the wine is so far the best I've tasted in quite a long time. When I am told that I should go back, I bought a bottle for Miime and leave the bar quite reluctantly.

I should have stayed longer. The first thing I see is two Gaia soldiers walking towards my direction. What the hell are they doing?

I hide into a dark alley before they can see me. I quicken my steps and want to exit from the other street, just to be met by two other soldiers who seem so lost in the town that I feel a little bit sorry for them. I climb up to the roof of the house to get a better look of my surroundings, only to see at least a dozen of soldiers coming from all directions, wandering around the place as if not sure who their target is.

They're there just to stop him from going back.

And they forget to think three-dimensionally.

I leap up across the gap between two buildings and start to run on the rooftops, at the same time groping for intercom and putting it on. 'Tochiro, I need you to scan the whole ship! Now!'

 _What's up, Harlock?_

'Just fucking scan the ship for any intruders! I think we're under attack!'

 _Okay, okay, just a 'ment…_

Tochiro swears. _He's on the bridge, having a fight with Miime._

Fuck.

'How the hell did he get in?'

 _I'm sorry, Harlock._

I say nothing more. I run into the hangar, dive straight into the lift and desperately punching the button to the bridge all along the five-second ride which seems to last for an eternity. I take my time to unsheathe my sabre, rushing out and blocking an attack for Miime.

It is the same soldier from the first attack.

His motion faster than I can track, another blade appears in his left hand and he throws the one on his right hand towards Miime's general direction. The alien ducks the blade, putting some distance between us and the soldier goes for her, but I put myself between them and our blades collided, the deafening clang echoing in the large room. Miime quickly rights herself, slashing the weapon towards the invader. Her attempt fails as a knife materialises in his hand and he twists a full circle to get out of our trap. He does a backflip, lands not far away from us and leaps up in the air, straightening his arms to raise the knives as high as possible. I go for his heart, but against my known laws of physics, his nihilium blade touches Miime's, sticks together like magnet and he turns a full circle in midair, the knives detaching and kicking Miime off-balance.

This time, he reaches for the dark matter engine.

I don't like the way the fight is going; the soldier's height allows him to escape very easily, and my side is getting more and more passive.

This is bad.

I aim at him and fire a shot, but somehow he knows where the gravity beam is and blocks it with his knife. However the force knocks him sideways, and he fall down onto the floor, rolls and stands up again as usual. At the same time, Miime is already waiting for him there, but he then jumps, does a 180 ° flip and clamps her arm between his legs, twisting it until the force brings both of them on the ground. I fire another shot at him despite the possibility of accidentally hitting Miime.

The world slows down as the beam hit the soldier's heart. I see him dissolve into millions of fireflies together with his gear, and the remaining evidence of the previous fight is my smoking gravity sabre and a shock Miime, who is lying sideways on the floor. I hurry to her side and help her get up.

He is a Nibelung.

'Are you okay, Miime?' I ask. I don't remember last time she being so frightened.

'I...I know him,' she says with a trembling voice. 'But I don't recognise him. Something tells me that we're related.'

I frown. 'Let's go back first. Then we'll talk about it.'

* * *

By the time I arrive at the base, the wound has stopped hurting already. One advantage of being half-Nibelung: you never seem to die. One can have billions of chances for doing the same thing.

The disadvantage? The human side of yours sometimes comes out and one may get him-/herself killed for that portion of DNA in his/her veins. Which actually sucks, in my perspective. I definitely don't have that luxury to die a few times just like the alien has.

How I hate myself for being a half-blood.

Gaia… They're stupid. They don't have a mind of their own. Pawns of their ancestors who are equally stupid. I have met all of them. I remember all of them.

I pace towards the hologram of the known universe in the middle of the room. Enlarging it, a mark which symbolises the _Arcadia_ slowly comes into sight.

 _Don't think I can't track you in an in-skip, Harlock,_ I think. I swipe the sphere more to the right and spots a Titan class battleship.

'Check the data of this ship,' I order.

'Roger that,' come the lifeless electronic reply.

'It's been abandoned, but in a good shape. What can I help you with that?'

'Don't need your help.'

* * *

'I hope you all remember the intruder who wounded all of you,' I start.

The crewmen look at one another. Good, because they seem to remember those specially programmed humanoids who harmed their pride as the undefeatable pirates of _Arcadia_.

'His target is Miime. As you all know, she is the only one who understand how to control the dark matter engine, so I hope you all realise how dangerous we are,' I continue. 'I hope you all can be aware of such person when- and wherever you go. Alert me if you see anything similar. Got it?'

A number of 'ayes' sound from the lower bridge. Just when I think everything is settled down, a beep is heard from a console. The man turns and widens the range.

'It's a Titan class battleship. Data comparison...' his voice dims. ' _Kronos_. It has been listed as MIA half a century ago.'


	4. A Ghost Unmasked

The should-be ghost ship doesn't scare me; its aura does. No matter how hard I try to convince myself that nothing is going to happen during this search, something in the depths of my thoughts tells me to stay on high alert all the time, and that's what I do.

I dismissed the crewmen following me some time ago, leaving me alone exploring the battleship nearly as large as _Arcadia_. The air locks still work, therefore at least I would not explode into a cloud of blood and flesh in case my suit is penetrated by debris from who-knows-where.

I know something is going to go terribly wrong, therefore I bring a nihilium knife which Tochiro recovered from one of the long-abandoned armoury with me. If the soldier comes, I can still defend myself at some point with the old knife. Somehow, its bluish-green glow comforts me, causing my heartbeat to slow down to a more...normal rate.

'Anything at your side, Captain? I heard you dismissed everyone you've brought,' Yama says through the intercom.

 _Of course there's something, I just can't see it,_ I want to say, but I lie, 'Nothing at the moment.' _It's hidden._

'Captain, are you okay? You sound scared.'

 _Of course I'm scared! How can I defend myself if I can't even see my enemy! I need more than crew members!_ 'No, it's fine. I think it's just the connection problem.'

'Okay, I'll send someone to check the intercom.'

 _Shit no._ 'It's fine. Keep searching the ship.'

Yama says nothing for a moment as if thinking for his decision.

'Alright, Captain. Just don't get yourself killed.'

 _Easier said than done, Yama._ 'I'll try.'

The link goes dead. My adrenaline level rushes all the way up beyond its limit, my heart speeding up against my own will. I have a sudden urge to run, to get out of this place, to abandon everyone and go and hide. This is not a foreign feeling: once Miime did that to me, and I nearly had a heart attack.

Fuck.

I don't know where the crazy idea come from; I shout, 'I know you are here! Don't think I don't understand your tricks!'

There is no reply, at least not in the form of words. A breeze so soft that I nearly forget the person causing it is NOT Miime. I suddenly forget who I am dealing with and plunge into

This pneuma… I have felt it before…

A place far, far away from here… A long time ago… Before…

Before I destroyed earth.

' _Something tells me that we're related.'_

I have seen this person before. I have seen him. But where and when exactly?

 _It won't be fun if you continue to stand frozen like this,_ Captain _of_ Arcadia _. Use your brain._

I jump, one thing that surprises me. I have gotten used to people speaking suddenly, therefore this does not make any sense. I shouldn't be _that_ afraid.

But the voice…the voice…

It's — _fuck_ , it's fucking _echoing_ in my brain!

'I advise you to stop using tricks,' I unsheathe my sabre, 'or I'll do the same to you. Don't complain afterwards if you continue.'

 _You won't._

An invisible force pulls on my collar and drags me in midair despite my best effort to keep myself on the floor. I feel the intercom being snached away and it snaps somewhere which is definitely out of my reach. It drops me almost as fast as it snatched me up, and I land smoothly with a roll, the nihilium knife still in my hand.

'What the heck you're playing?' I ask out loud. Even if I hadn't said it, the soldier would also have heard me. Any effort to hide my thoughts would have been a waste of strength and brain cells.

I wait holding the knife up. I wait with my heart racing. I wait for the answer which never seems to come.

This time, I get a figure emerging from the darkness as an answer.

* * *

I don't know why I choose to enter like that. Dramatically. Scarily. Slowly.

Like the nemeses in those old movies.

He doesn't want me to play. Fine.

He doesn't like tricks. Fine.

He doesn't recognise me. Fine.

I do not expect him to look so terrified either. The tight trembling grip on his nihilium knife betrays him and shows his fear. The legendary, undefeatable space pirate who successfully destroyed more than half of Gaia's ship with one single, also undefeatable battleship is afraid of a soldier half a metre shorter than him. I want to laugh, but instead only a smirk appears on my lips behind the mask.

And he definitely doesn't know his soft spot who is also my target is coming here to aid him. Although I am disturbing the dark matter signature around us, she, being a pure-blood Nibelung, has a power greater than my expectation. In less than fifteen minutes, she will break all barriers I have set and come to rescue.

Which is part of my plan in case I can't finish Harlock in the time limit.

The flash of his knife brings me back to reality. Another unexpected movement: he attacks.

* * *

I'm tired of being a gentleman towards this soldier. As though lost in his thoughts, for a moment he stands there perfectly still, not moving or even breathing. I don't know what he is playing, but that doesn't matter.

I strike.

His reflexes are fast. He doesn't block me with the metal knife, but instead steps aside and, fuck, let the blade dig into his shoulder. Blood no different from a human's flow out from the wound, first staining his dark clothes to an even darker shade of black and then my gloves, the leather being the only barrier preventing the blood from bloodying my hand. The small hooks of the knife, which originally exist to deal more damage on the enemy, now become an unwanted resistance that prevents me from drawing away.

Is this part of his plan as well?

An invisible yet powerful blow hits my left shoulder, knocking me backwards. I feel myself ripping the knife out from his flesh, but somehow I manage to grab hold of the soldier's mask and tear it away.

I lost track of space as the air in my lungs are knocked out by something hard. If he had been any normal opponent, I would have thought that I hit the floor.

But the soldier can master dark matter better than I.

'Nice try, Harlock.'

I have heard that voice before. I try to get up but fail as blue mist keeps me pinned on the floor. My heartbeat and the soldier's footsteps become the only sound that I can hear. My hastened breath soon joins the dreadful song. I've never been so scared before, not even when I was going to lose my fight against the three other Deathshadows. I feel my weapons being torn away.

I hear my knife being pulled away from my grip. The soldier stands before me, peering down as if deciding where he should stab me.

He instead pulls his goggles up. My eyes widen in recognition: the brown eyes, the bluish-green hair.

'Mayu?'

A smirk plays on her lips. ' _Schön dich wieder zu sehen_ , Harlock.'

Pain erupts from my heart as the knife bore down and cut open my flesh. I hear some noise from a distinct place, then the blade twists,then the blade twists in me and sends out another wave of pain. It leaves my body in the most painful way possible, the hooks doing their job properly this time.

The only thing I was able to feel before I lose conscious was the warm, sticky blood gluing my jacket to my skin.


	5. Thoughts of the Immortals (1)

I sigh as soon as I catch sight of where Mayu is. Normal kids like running around and screaming at this stage, but for Mayu it is a little bit different. She likes to run around and climb whatever is taller than me, but she neither screams not yells, not even when she falls down and dissolves into a pile of dust.

Everything is the same for today. Mayu somehow manages to climb to the highest railing of the windows and cannot figure out a way to climb down without breaking herself.

Which means she is stuck.

She pokes her head outside the curtains, her face blank with no expression at all. The light makes her hair look greener than usual, but otherwise she look perfectly fine, at least to me.

I clap my hands. 'C'mon, Mayu,' I say. 'Grab the curtains and slide down. It's easy.' Even though I don't expect her to follow my words.

She cocks her head to one side. Okay, then. I grab hold of the curtain and give it a swing. 'Just like this, Mayu, I'll catch you.' I roll up my sleeves, showing my visually not-so-strong biceps. I doubt if she believes in me, but she always jumps.

But obviously not this time. Instead, she snaps her gaze towards the door and yelled, 'Daaaaaaaaaddyyyyyy!'

I turn and find Tochiro walking towards me holding a baby in his arms. He doesn't seem to hear his daughter, because he walks straight up to me. 'Here Harlock,' says he with a grin which nearly splits his face into half, 'you wanna hold her? You're her godfather!'

I frown, looking between the baby and the girl on the railing. Finally I decide to choose the older one. 'But isn't you daughter…' I point a finger upward, '...up…' he looks at me with a shocked expression, therefore I turn and find a fully-armed Mayu, '...there…?'

My gaze go back to Tochiro, and immediately a bullet goes through his head. The baby dissolved into a pile of dust, and blood spills out from the wound.

I do not expect this to happen. The body lands with a loud thump, and at the same time the door squeaks open, revealing a slender, luminous form.

No. Don't.

'Miime don't!' I run towards her, but then something heavy strikes my back hard, and then my head hit the floor. From my blurry vision I see a pair feet walking slowly towards Miime, and some unseen forces are bounding my limbs, keeping me pinned onto the floor. The alien tries to run, but the door slams shut and she freezes cold. I hear a soft thump on the floor again. I want to scream, want to stand up, want to fight, but I can do nothing.

Why, Mayu, why?

'Don't.'

* * *

I smack the glass onto the table. I have lost count of how much I have drunk, but judge from the number of drunken men around me, I guess I have had a lot.

'You'll be payin', wontcha?' the bartender asks. Ah, I almost forget. I'm here not just to drink.

'Not unless,' I stand up from my place. The stoll falls down and his a person's head, but I don't care, 'you tell me where I can find _poaceae nihility_.'

'G'luck wi' you, girl. Last time I saw it was on the walls of the 'alley.'

'When was it?' I ask. The grass only grow on this planet. If it is gone as well, then I don't have long to finish my mission.

'Just yesterday, girl. You aren't trying to pick it? It's impossible, y'know, dissolving right under your fingertips.'

'Oh really?' I knock down another glass of whatever he poured for me and slam it onto the table. He looks far more than a little bit shocked. Some very heavy liquor, I assume. I unfold a knife from my pocket and nail it deep inside the wood. The bartender's chin is already on the ground, and his eyes are larger than flamingo eggs.

'This is my payment.' I stand up, avoiding the bodies on the floor. 'Gaia Sanction will reward you further.'

I exited the bar before he can ask me more questions.

* * *

 _The only solution to nihilium is nihilium itself._

Floating in midair, I detatch a bomb from my belt, pull the security plug away and throw it accurately onto the purplish black grass.

They shouldn't be here. It should only exist on Niflheim, but somehow, they manage to grow here on a densely populated human colony planet.

I float a few metres backward. The shock waves hit me hard, but I manage to stay still in the air.

 _No chance for you, Harlock._


End file.
